Information processing system, information processing device and method, program storage medium, and program

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing device and a method, a program storage medium, and a program which allow content to be distributed according to a user&#39;s action. A content server transmits a content URI corresponding to an action processable by an application server to the application server. When a user performs an action, an application client transmits an action message to the application server. In accordance with the action message, the application server transmits the address of the content receiver and a content URI to the content server. The content server distributes content to a content receiver. The present invention is applicable to a system that distributes content over the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to information processing systems,information processing devices and methods, program storage media, andprograms. In particular, the present invention relates to an informationprocessing system, an information processing device and a method, aprogram storage medium, and a program which can ensure the distributionof content useful for users.

Recently, with the widespread availability of the Internet, users canobtain various types of information through the use thereof. Businessentities that wish to supply various types of information also maysupply information they wish to supply to users over the Internet.

However, since too much information can be obtained, it is difficult forgeneral users to obtain only that information they want. Thus, a systemhas been proposed in which each general user pre-registers his/herpreference information with a predetermined server, the server acquiresinformation that meets the preference, and the user accesses the serverso that he/she can obtain only information that meets his/herpreference.

In such a system, however, each user must register his/her preferenceinformation, thereby providing a large load on the user, so that theuser does not use the system after all in many cases.

In addition, in order to have as many users as possible to actuallylisten to and/or view information, the information provider needs tosupply the information to as many users as possible. However, with thesystem described above, the preference information of each user cannotbe known from a device other than the server in which the users'preference information is registered. Thus, there is a problem in thatinformation cannot be efficiently distributed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, whereinthe present invention seeks to allow content to be promptly, reliably,and efficiently distributed to users.

The present invention provides an information processing system. A firstinformation processing device includes a first receiver for receivingaccess information from a second information processing device, a firstholding part for holding the access information received by the firstreceiver, and a first transmitter for transmitting the actioninformation corresponding to the access information to a thirdinformation processing device. A second information processing deviceincludes a first acquiring part for acquiring the action informationprocessable by the third information processing device, a secondtransmitter for transmitting the access information corresponding to theaction information to the first information processing device, a secondreceiver for receiving an address of a device with which an action wasperformed and the access information corresponding to the performedaction from the third information processing device, and a thirdtransmitter for transmitting content to the address in accordance withthe access information received by the second receiver. A thirdinformation processing device includes a third receiver for receivingthe access information and the action information corresponding to theaccess information from the first information processing device, asecond holding part for holding the access information so as tocorrespond to the action information received by the third receiver, asecond acquiring part for acquiring the address of the device with whichthe action was performed, the action and the action information, aretriever for retrieving the access information corresponding to theaction information from the information held by the second holding part,and a fourth transmitter for transmitting the address acquired by thesecond acquiring part and the access information retrieved by theretriever to the second information processing device.

The present invention also provides an information processing method foran information processing system. The information processing method fora first information processing device includes a first receiving step ofreceiving the access information from the second information processingdevice, a first holding step of holding the access information receivedin the processing of the first receiving step, and a first transmittingstep of transmitting the action information corresponding to the accessinformation to the third information processing device. The informationprocessing method for a second information processing device includes afirst acquiring step of acquiring the action information processable bythe third information processing device, a second transmitting step oftransmitting the access information corresponding to the actioninformation to the first information processing device, a secondreceiving step of receiving an address of a device with which an actionwas performed and the access information corresponding to the performedaction from the third information processing device, and a thirdtransmitting step of transmitting content to the address in accordancewith the access information received in the processing of the secondreceiving step. The information processing method for a thirdinformation processing device includes a third receiving step ofreceiving the access information and the action informationcorresponding to the access information from the first informationprocessing device, a second holding step of holding the accessinformation so as to correspond to the action information received inthe processing of the third receiving step, a second acquiring step ofacquiring the address of the device with which the action was performedthe action and the action information, a retrieving step of retrievingthe access information corresponding to the action information from theinformation held in the processing of the second holding step, and afourth transmitting step of transmitting the address acquired in theprocessing of the second acquiring step and the access informationretrieved in the processing of the retrieving step to the secondinformation processing device.

The present invention also provides a first information processingdevice. The device includes a first receiver for receiving accessinformation for accessing content from a first another informationprocessing device, a first holding part for holding the accessinformation received by the first receiver, and a first transmitter fortransmitting action information corresponding to the access informationto a second another information processing device.

The first information processing device may further include adetermining part for determining an ID corresponding to the accessinformation received by the first receiver. The first holding part holdsthe access information and the ID.

The first information processing device may further include a secondreceiver for receiving an address of a device with which an action wasperformed and the ID corresponding to the action from the second anotherinformation processing device, a detector for detecting the accessinformation corresponding to the ID from the first holding part, and asecond transmitter for transmitting the address and the accessinformation to the first another information processing device.

The first information processing device may further include a thirdreceiver for receiving an action processable by the second anotherinformation processing device from the second another informationprocessing device, and a second holding part for holding the actionreceived by the third receiver.

The first information processing device may further include a fourthreceiver for receiving a request for acquiring the action from the firstanother information processing device, and a third transmitter fortransmitting the action held by the second holding part to the firstanother information processing device.

The present invention also provides a first information processingmethod. The method includes a receiving step of receiving the accessinformation from the first another information processing device, aholding step of holding the access information received in theprocessing of the receiving step, and a transmitting step oftransmitting action information corresponding to the access informationto second another information processing device.

The present invention also provides a first program storage medium. Aprogram in the first program storage medium includes a receiving step ofreceiving the access information from the first another informationprocessing device, a hold controlling step of controlling holding of theaccess information received in the processing of the receiving step, anda transmitting step of transmitting action information corresponding tothe access information to the second another information processingdevice.

The present invention also provides a first program. The first programcauses a computer to execute a receiving step of receiving the accessinformation from the first another information processing device, a holdcontrolling step of controlling holding of the access informationreceived in the processing of the receiving step, and a transmittingstep of transmitting action information corresponding to the accessinformation to the second another information processing device.

The present information also provides a second information processingdevice. The second information processing device includes an acquiringpart for acquiring action information processable by a first anotherinformation processing device, a first transmitter for transmittingaccess information corresponding to the action information to a secondanother information processing device, a receiver for receiving anaddress of a device with which an action was performed and the accessinformation corresponding to the performed action from the first anotherinformation processing device, and a second transmitter for transmittingcontent to the address in accordance with the access informationreceived by the receiver.

The present invention also provides a second information processingmethod. The method includes an acquiring step of acquiring actioninformation processable by second another information processing device,a first transmitting step of transmitting the access informationcorresponding to the action information to the first another informationprocessing device, a receiving step of receiving an address of a devicewith which an action was performed and the access informationcorresponding to the performed action from the second anotherinformation processing device, and a second transmitting step oftransmitting content to the address in accordance with the accessinformation received in the processing of the receiving step.

The present invention also provides a second program storage medium. Aprogram in the storage medium includes an acquiring step of acquiringaction information processable by a second another informationprocessing device, a first transmitting step of transmitting the accessinformation corresponding to the action information to the first anotherinformation processing device, a receiving step of receiving an addressof a device with which an action was performed and the accessinformation corresponding to the performed action from the secondanother information processing device, and a second transmitting step oftransmitting content to the address in accordance with the accessinformation received in the processing of the receiving step.

The present invention also provides a second program. The program causesa computer to execute an acquiring step of acquiring action informationprocessable by a second another information processing device, a firsttransmitting step of transmitting the access information correspondingto the action information to the first another information processingdevice, a receiving step of receiving an address of a device with whichan action was performed and the access information corresponding to theperformed action from the second another information processing device,and a second transmitting step of transmitting content to the address inaccordance with the access information received in the processing of thereceiving step.

The present invention also provides a third information processingdevice. The device includes a first receiver for receiving accessinformation and action information corresponding to the accessinformation from a first another information processing device, holdingpart for holding the access information so as to correspond to theaction information received by the first receiver, an acquiring part foracquiring the action information and an address of a device with whichthe action is performed, retriever for retrieving the access informationcorresponding to the action information from the information held by theholding part, and first transmitter for transmitting the addressacquired by the acquiring part and the access information retrieved bythe retriever to a second another information processing device.

The third information processing device may further include a secondtransmitter for transmitting a processable action to the first anotherinformation processing device.

The third information processing device may further include a secondreceiver for receiving the access information and an ID corresponding tothe access information from the first another information processingdevice, a second retriever for retrieving the same access information asthe access information received by the second receiver, from the holdingpart, and a storing part for storing the ID so as to correspond to theaccess information retrieved by the second retriever.

The present invention also provides a third information processingmethod. The method includes a receiving step of receiving accessinformation and action information corresponding to the accessinformation from a first another information processing device, aholding step of holding the access information so as to correspond tothe action information received in the processing of the first receivingstep, an acquiring step of acquiring an address of a device with whichan action was performed and the action information, a retrieving step ofretrieving the access information corresponding to the actioninformation from the information held in the processing of the holdingstep, and a transmitting step of transmitting the address acquired inthe processing of the acquiring step and the access informationretrieved in the processing of the retrieving step to a second anotherinformation processing device.

The present invention also provides a third program storage medium. Aprogram in the storage medium includes a receiving step of receivingaccess information and action information corresponding to the accessinformation from a first another information processing device, a holdcontrolling step of controlling holding of the access information so asto correspond to the action information received in the processing ofthe first receiving step, an acquisition controlling step of controllingacquisition of an address of a device with which an action was performedand the action information, a retrieving step of retrieving the accessinformation corresponding to the action information from the informationheld in the processing of the hold controlling step, and a transmittingstep of transmitting the address acquired in the processing of theacquisition controlling step and the access information retrieved in theprocessing of the retrieving step to a second another informationprocessing device.

The present invention also provides a third program. The program causesa computer to execute a receiving step of receiving access informationand action information corresponding to the access information from afirst another information processing device, a hold controlling step ofcontrolling holding of the access information so as to correspond to theaction information received in the processing of the first receivingstep, an acquisition controlling step of controlling acquisition of anaddress of a device with which an action was performed and the actioninformation, a retrieving step of retrieving the access informationcorresponding to the action information from the information held in theprocessing of the hold controlling step, and a transmitting step oftransmitting the address acquired in the processing of the acquisitioncontrolling step and the access information retrieved in the processingof the retrieving step to a second another information processingdevice.

In the first information processing device and method, the programstorage medium, and the program according to the present invention,access information is received from the first information processingdevice and action information corresponding to the access information istransmitted to the second another information processing device.

In the second information processing device and method, the programstorage medium, and the program according to the present invention,action information processable by the first another informationprocessing device is acquired and access information corresponding tothe action information is transmitted to the second another informationprocessing device. The address of a device with which the action wasperformed and the access information corresponding to the performedaction are received from the first another information processing deviceand content is transmitted to the address in accordance with thereceived access information.

In the third information processing device and method, the programstorage medium, and the program according to the present invention,access information and action information corresponding to the accessinformation are received from the first another information processingdevice. The access information is held so as to correspond to thereceived action information, and the address of a device with which theaction was performed and the action information are acquired. Accessinformation corresponding to the action information is retrieved fromthe held information and the acquired address and the retrieved accessinformation are transmitted to the second another information processingdevice.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the following DetailedDescription of the Invention and the Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of aninformation distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the informationdistribution system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which a web servertransmits an action element.

FIG. 4 is a table showing examples of data stored in an action elementDB of an application server.

FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of information transmitted from theweb server to the action element DB of the service server.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which the serviceserver performs registration into the action element DB.

FIG. 7 is a table showing examples of data stored in an action elementDB of the service server.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which atrigger-element registry client acquires an action element.

FIG. 9 is a table showing an example of a message that thetrigger-element registry client transmits to a trigger-element registryserver.

FIG. 10 is a table showing an example of an action element groupacquired by the trigger-element registry client.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which thetrigger-element registry client transmits a content URI.

FIG. 12 is a table showing an example of information that thetrigger-element registry client transmits to the trigger-elementregistry server.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which thetrigger-element registry server acquires a trigger ID.

FIG. 14 is a table showing an example of information that thetrigger-element registry server transmits to the web server.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which thetrigger-element DB determines a trigger ID.

FIG. 16 is a table showing examples of data stored in thetrigger-element DB.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which the web serverregisters a trigger ID.

FIG. 18 is a table showing examples of data stored in the action elementDB of the application server.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which the applicationserver receives an action message.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which a triggermanager receives a user ID and a trigger ID.

FIG. 21 is a table showing examples of data stored in a user-address DB.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating processing in which a contentsender distributes content.

FIG. 23 is a chart illustrating the operation of the informationprocessing system of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing another configuration of theinformation distribution system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing still another configuration of theinformation distribution system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 26 is a bock diagram showing the internal configuration of acomputer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagramshowing an example of the configuration of one embodiment of aninformation distribution system according to the present invention.

In an information distribution system 1, an application client 11, anapplication server 12, a service server 13, a content server 14, and acontent receiver 15 are interconnected over a network 100 including theInternet.

The service server 13 determines a trigger ID for an action. Theapplication server 12 registers the trigger ID determined by the serviceserver 13. When an action is input from a user, the application client11 issues a notification to the application server 12. Upon receivingthe notification, the application server 12 transmits a user ID and atrigger ID corresponding to the action to the service server 13. Theservice server 13 transmits the address of the content receiver 15corresponding to the user ID and a content URI corresponding to thetrigger ID to the content server 14. In accordance with the content URI,the content server 14 distributes content to the content receiver 15 atthe received address.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of individual units of the informationdistribution system according to the present invention. The applicationclient 11 includes, for example, a web browser 31, a ticket client 32, aGPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 33, and a GPS satellite 34. Theapplication server 12 includes a web server 41 and an action-element DB(database) 44 which correspond to the web browser 31, a ticket server 42and an action-element DB 45 which correspond to the ticket client 32,and a position-information server 43 and an action-element DB 46 whichcorrespond to the GPS receiver 33.

An action-element DB 61 receives and registers action elements(described below) of actions that can be processed by the web server 41,the ticket server 42, and the position-information server 43 of theapplication server 12.

When a trigger-element registry server 62 receives a request foracquiring an action element group from a trigger-element registry client81 of the content server 14, the trigger-element registry server 62acquires an action element group from the action-element DB 61 andtransmits the action element group to the trigger-element registryclient 81. The trigger-element registry client 81 selects an actionelement from the received action element group and issues, to thetrigger-element registry server 62, a request for registering a contentURI for the selected action element (trigger element).

Upon receiving the request for registering the content URI from thetrigger-element registry client 81, the trigger-element registry server62 transmits the content URI to a trigger-element DB 65.

Upon receiving the content URI from the trigger-element registry server62, the trigger-element DB 65 determines a trigger ID so as tocorrespond to the content URI and transmits the determined trigger ID tothe trigger-element registry server 62. The trigger-element registryserver 62 transits the received trigger ID and a trigger elementcorresponding thereto to the application server 12.

The application server 12 retrieves an action element having the samecontent as the received trigger element from the action-element DBs 44to 46 and stores the received trigger ID so as to correspond to theaction element. When the application server 12 receives an actionmessage from the application client 11, the application server 12detects an action element and the user ID a user who performed theaction and retrieves a trigger ID corresponding to the action elementfrom the action-element DBs 44 to 46. The application server 12 thentransmits the trigger ID and the user ID to a trigger manager 64.

The trigger manager 64 receives the user ID and the trigger ID. Thetrigger manager 64 searches for the address of a content receivercorresponding to the received user ID from a user-address DB 63. Thetrigger manager 64 also searches for a content URI corresponding to thetrigger ID from the trigger-element DB 65. The trigger manager 64transmits the found content receiver's address and the content URI to acontent sender 82.

In accordance with the received content-receiver's address, the contentsender 82 transmits content corresponding to the received content URI tothe content receiver 15.

While the network 10 is not shown in FIG. 2, information is communicatedbetween the individual units over the network 10.

Next, processing in which the web server 41 transmits an action elementfrom the action-element DB 44 to the action-element DB 61 of the serviceserver 13 and issues a request for registering the action element willbe described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 3.

In step S1, the web server 41 determines whether or not an actionelement is registered in the action-element DB 44. When it is determinedthat no action element is registered in the action-element DB 44, theweb server 41 waits until an action element is registered.

A provider who intends to provide a service for the web browser 31registers an action into the action-element DB 44. FIG. 4 shows anexample in which actions are registered in the action-element DB 44. Inthe action-element DB 44, action element IDs 101, action elements,action-element registrants 105 as accompanying information accompanyingthe action elements, and trigger IDs 106 are registered. Each action 103is registered as an action element together with an operator 102 and asubject 104.

For example, an action with an action-element ID 101 of “1” is browsing“Browse,” performed by operator “User,” for “http://www.saay.co.jp/”registered by “Saay Corp.” Similarly, an action having an ID 101 of “2”is browsing “Browse,” performed by operator “Man,” for“http://www.aabo1.com/” registered by “Saay Corp.,” and an action havingan ID 101 of “3” is browsing “Browse,” performed by operator “Young,”for “http://www.aabo2.com/” registered by “Saay Corp.”

In this manner, as a registrant, a content provider who wishes to ensurethat content suitable for each general user is supplied to the userpre-registers, as action elements, user's actions that the providerwants to associate with the content. Once an action element isregistered, when a user (the web browser 31) performs a predeterminedaction and the user's action corresponds to a registered action element,content is automatically registered in the user's content receiver 15.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, when a general user (theuser indicated by an operator 102 of “User”) browses“http://www.saany.co.jp/” specified as the subject 104 (i.e., performs a“Browse” action specified as the action 103), content specified by atrigger ID is supplied to the content receiver 15 of the user whoperformed the action. When a male user (a user indicated by an operator102 of “Man”) browses “http://www.aabo1.com/” specified as the subject104 (i.e., performs a “Browse” action specified as the action 103),content specified by a trigger ID is supplied to the content receiver 15of the user who performed the action. Further, when a young user (a userindicated by an operator 102 of “Young”) browses “http://www.aabo2.com/”specified as the subject 104 (i.e., performs a “Browse” action specifiedas the action 103), content specified by a trigger ID is supplied to thecontent receiver 15 of the user who performed the action.

When it is determined in step S1 that an action element is registered,in step S2, the web server 41 transmits the registered action element tothe action-element DB 61 of the service server 13, issues a request forregistration, and ends the processing.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the action element transmitted to theaction-element DB 61. The action element is constituted by an operator111, an action 112, and a subject 113. A registrant 114 who hasregistered the action element is also transmitted as accompanyinginformation of the action element.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 5, the action of browsing“http://www.saay.co.jp/” registered by “Saay Corp.” is transmitted tothe action-element DB 61. That is, FIG. 5 shows an example when theaction element with ID “1” shown in FIG. 4 is transmitted.

Processing in which the service server 13 registers the action elementinto the action-element DB 61 in response to the processing of the webserver 41 which is shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3 will now bedescribed with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 6.

In step S11, the service server 13 receives an action element as shownin FIG. 5 from the web server 41. In step S12, the service server 13stores the received action element, together with the address of the webserver 41 (the application server 12), into the action-element DB 61.

Registration processing as described above is repeated, so that receivedaction elements are registered, as shown in FIG. 7, in theaction-element DB 61. In the action-element DB 61, action element IDs141, action elements received from the web server 41, registrants 145 asaccompanying information of the action elements, and application-serveraddresses 164 are registered. Each action element is constituted by anoperator 142, an action 143, and a subject 144. The application-serveraddress 146 is an address for identifying a position in terms of anetwork and is, for example, the IP address of the web server 41 (theapplication server 12) for which the action element is registered.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, an action having an ID 141 of “1” isbrowsing of “http://www.saay.co.jp/” registered by “Saay Corp.” and theaddress of the application server 12 from which the action can beobtained is “http://www.saay.jp/.” Similarly, an action having an ID 141of “2” is purchasing (Buy) of “Rider Man” registered by “Saay Corp.” andthe address of the application server 12 from which the action can beobtained is “ticket://riderman.com.” An action having an ID 141 of “3”is knowing how to go (Go) to “Ginza Annie Building” registered by “GINZACity” and the address of the application server 12 from which the actionis obtained is “43.22.22.22.” The operators 142 are “User,” “Man,” and“Young,” respectively.

Next, processing in which the trigger-element registry client 81acquires an action element stored in the action-element DB 61 will bedescribed with reference to the flow chart show in FIG. 8.

In step S21, the trigger-element registry client 81 determines whetheror not a request for acquiring an action element is issued from theadministrator of the content server 14. When it is determined that arequest for acquiring an action element is not issued from a user, thetrigger-element registry client 81 waits until a request for acquiringan action element is issued.

When it is determined in step S21 that a request for acquiring an actionelement is issued from the administrator, the trigger-element registryclient 81 advances the process to step S22, in which the trigger-elementregistry client 81 transmits an action-element acquirement request tothe trigger-element registry server 62.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the action-element acquirement requestingmessage transmitted from the trigger-element registry client 81. Themessage is constituted by an operator 161, an action 162, a subject 163,and a registrant 164. Also, “*” indicates a wildcard. That is, in thecase of the example shown in FIG. 9, the trigger-element registry client81 issues an request for acquiring an action element with a registrant164 of “Saay Corp.”

In step S23, the trigger-element registry client 81 acquires an actionelement group from the trigger-element registry server 62, registers theaction element group, and ends the processing.

As shown in FIG. 7, action elements are stored in the action-element DB61. When an action-element acquirement requesting message as shown inFIG. 9 is received, the trigger-element registry client 81 acquires anaction element group as shown in FIG. 10.

The action element group is constituted by action elements IDs 181,action elements, registrants 185 as accompanying information of theaction elements, and application-server addresses 186. Each actionelement is constituted by an operator 182, an action 183, and a subject184.

Out of the action element group shown in FIG. 7, action elements with aregistrant of “Saay Corp.” have IDs 141 of “1” and “2.” Thus, the actionelement group acquired by the trigger-element registry client 81 isconstituted by actions having IDs 181 of “1” and “2” as shown in FIG.10.

Thus, for the action having an ID 181 of “1,” the operator 182 is“User,” the action 183 is “Browser,” the subject 184 is“http://www.saay.co.jp/,” the registrant 185 is “Saay Corp.,” and theapplication-server address is “http://www.saay.jp/.” For the actionhaving an ID 181 of “2,” the operator 182 is “Man,” the action 183 is“Buy,” the subject 184 is “Rider Man,” the registrant 185 is “SaayCorp.,” and the application-server address 186 is“ticket://riderman.com.”

The administrator of the content server 14 who intends to supply contentto the user of the application client 11 needs to pre-register a contentURI (Uniform Resource Indicator) into the service server 13 as necessaryinformation for the user to access the content. Next, processing inwhich the trigger-element registry client 81 transmits a content URI tothe service server 13 for registration will be described with referenceto the flow chart show in FIG. 11.

In step S31, the trigger-element registry client 81 of the contentserver 14 determines whether or not a request for registering a contentURI is issued from the administrator of the content server 14. When itis determined that a request for registering a content URI is not issuedfrom a user, the trigger-element registry client 81 waits until arequest for registering a content URI is issued.

When it is determined in step S31 that a request for registering acontent URI is issued from the administrator, the trigger-elementregistry client 81 determines a content URI so as to correspond to anaction element (specified to be registered, and this action elementhereinafter will be called a trigger element) selected by theadministrator from the action element group received from thetrigger-element registry server 62 in the processing in step S23 of FIG.8 and registered.

In step S33, the trigger-element registry client 81 transmits a requestfor registering the trigger element and the content URI to thetrigger-element registry server 62, and ends the processing.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the trigger element and the content URIwhich are contained in the registration requesting message transmittedfrom the trigger-element registry client 81 to the trigger-elementregistry server 62. The message transmitted from the trigger-elementregistry client 81 contains a trigger element ID 201, a trigger element,a registrant 205 accompanying information accompanying the triggerelement, an application-server address 206, and a content URI 207determined so as to correspond to the trigger element. The triggerelement is constituted by an operator 202, an action 203, and a subject204.

For example, for a trigger element having an ID 201 of “1,”“http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg” is set as the content URI 207. That is,the content URI of content that corresponds to browsing of“http.saay.co.jp” registered by “Saay Corp.” and that is requested tothe application server 12 (the web server 41) having anapplication-server address 206 of “http://www.saay.co.jp/” is“http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg.”

In this manner, the administrator of the content server 14 who intendsto supply content can register the content, he/she wants to supply, foran action. Also, the administrator of the content server 14 can readilyupdate the registration of the content.

Processing in which the trigger-element registry server 62 acquires atrigger ID in response to the processing of the trigger-element registryclient 81 which is shown in the flow chart in FIG. 11 will now bedescribed with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 13.

Although one content URI is determined for one trigger element in theabove-described processing, one content URI may be determined for anumber of trigger elements. A number of content URIs also may bedetermined for one trigger element.

In step S41, the trigger-element registry server 62 determines whetheror not a request for registering a trigger element and a content URI isissued from the trigger-element registry client 81. When it isdetermined that a request for registering a trigger element and acontent URI is not issued from the trigger-element registry client 81,the trigger-element registry server 62 waits until a request forregistering a trigger element and a content URI is issued.

When the request is received, in step S42, the trigger-element registryserver 62 acquires a trigger element and a content URI correspondingthereto as shown in FIG. 12, the trigger element and the content URIbeing contained in the message received from the trigger-elementregistry client 81.

In step S43, the trigger-element registry server 62 transmits thecontent URI acquired in the processing in step S42 to thetrigger-element DB 65. As will be described below, upon receiving thecontent URI, the trigger-element DB 65 determines a trigger IDcorresponding to the content URI (in step S62 shown in FIG. 15 anddescribed below) and transmits the trigger ID (in step S64 in FIG. 15).Thus, in step S44, the trigger-element registry server 62 acquires thetrigger ID, corresponding to the content URI, transmitted from thetrigger-element DB 65. In step S45, the trigger-element registry server62 transmits the trigger element and the trigger ID to the web server 41and ends the processing. The trigger element and the trigger ID arereceived by the web server 41 in step S82 shown in FIG. 17 and describedbelow.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the trigger element and the trigger ID whichare transmitted from the trigger-element registry server 62 to the webserver 41.

The message transmitted to the web server 41 is constituted by a triggerelement, a registrant 214 as accompanying information accompanying thetrigger element, and a trigger ID 215. The trigger element isconstituted by an operator 211, an action 212, and a subject 213.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 14, the trigger ID 215 is setto “1” for the trigger element corresponding to the action of browsing“http://www.saay.co.jp/” registered by “Saay Corp.”

Next, processing executed by the trigger element DB 65 to determine atrigger ID in response to the processing in which the trigger-elementregistry server 62 transmits the content URI in step S43 of FIG. 13 willbe described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 15.

In step S61, the trigger element DB 65 receives the content URI thattrigger-element registry server 62 has transmitted in the processing instep S43 of FIG. 13. In step S62, the trigger element DB 65 determines atrigger ID corresponding to the content URI received in the processingin step S61. In step S63, the trigger element DB 65 stores thedetermined trigger ID and the content URI. In step S64, the triggerelement DB 65 transmits the trigger ID determined in the processing instep S62 to the trigger-element registry server 62. The trigger ID isreceived by the trigger-element registry server 62 in step S44 of FIG.13.

FIG. 16 shows an example of data stored in the trigger element DB 65.Each piece of data is constituted by a trigger ID 221 and a content URI222.

In this case, for example, the content URI 222 with a trigger ID 221 of“1” is “http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg.” The trigger IDs 221 for contentURIs 222 of “http://www.aabo.com/aabo1.mpg” and“http://www.aabo.com/aabo2.mpg” are “2.” In this manner, even when anumber of content URIs are determined for one trigger element, onetrigger ID is determined for one trigger element (a number of contentURIs).

Next, processing executed by the web server 41 to register a trigger IDinto the action-element DB 44 in response to the transmission processingof the trigger-element registry server 62 which is shown in step S45 ofFIG. 13 will be described in detail with reference to the flow chartshown in FIG. 17.

In step S81, the web server 41 determines whether or not the messagethat is transmitted from the trigger-element registry server 62 in theprocessing in step S45 of FIG. 13 and contains the trigger element andthe trigger ID is received. When it is determined that the message fromthe trigger-element registry server 62 is not received, the web server41 waits until the message from the service server 13 is received.

When it is determined in step S81 that the message from thetrigger-element registry server 62 is received, the web server 41advances the process to step S82, in which the web server 41 acquiresthe trigger element and the trigger ID from the message from thetrigger-element registry server 62. In step S83, the web server 41retrieves the same action element as the trigger element acquired in theprocessing in step S82 from the action-element DB 44.

As described above, the trigger element (FIG. 12) is specified forregistration, out of the action elements (FIG. 4) transmitted from theweb server 41 to the action element DB 61 in the processing in step S2shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the action element corresponding to the triggerelement is held by the action-element DB 44.

In step S84, the web server 41 registers a trigger ID (FIG. 14),associated with the trigger element, for the action element that isretrieved in the processing in step S83 that is associated with thetrigger element, out of the action elements shown in FIG. 4. The webserver 41 then ends the processing.

Processing as described above is repeated, so that the state of theaction-element DB 44 in which the trigger IDs are registered changesfrom FIG. 4 to FIG. 18. For example, when the message shown in FIG. 14is transmitted from the trigger-element registry server 62, “1” isregistered as the trigger ID 106 so as to correspond to the actionelement (the operator 102 is “User,” the action 103 is “Browse,” and thesubject 104 is “http://www.saay.co.jp/”) with an ID 101 of “1” in whichthe same contents as the received trigger element (the operator 211 is“User,” the action 212 is “Browse,” and the subject 213 is“http://www.saay.co.jp/”) are stored.

Similarly, when a trigger element and a trigger element ID “2” whichhave the same content as the actions elements with IDs 101 of “2” and“3” are received from the trigger-element registry server 62, “2” isregistered as the trigger ID 106 so as to correspond to the actionelements with IDs 101 of “2” and “3,” as shown in FIG. 18.

As described above, when the trigger ID(s) are registered in theaction-element DB 44, the web server 41 can provide contentcorresponding to browser processing of the web browser 31 that serves asa general user (the application client 11).

Next, processing in which a general user executes predetermined browserprocessing at the web browser 31 will be described with reference to theflow chart shown in FIG. 19.

In step S101, the web server 41 determines whether or not a message fromthe web browser 31 (the application client 11) is received. When it isdetermined that a message from the web browser 31 is not received, theweb server 41 waits until a message from the web browser 31 is received.

When it is determined in step S101 that a message from the web browser31 is received, the web server 41 advances the process to step S102, inwhich the web server 41 acquires a message (an action message) and auser ID which correspond to the action from the received message. Theaction message contains, for example, the HTTP (Hyper Text TransferProtocol) based URL (the subject 104 included in the action elementshown in FIG. 4) of a homepage that the user wishes to browse.

Further, since the action is access to the homepage from the web browser31, the web server 41 recognizes that the action 103 is “Browse.” Inaccordance with the user ID, the web server 41 also identifies which oneof the operators 102 (i.e., “User,” “Man,” “Young,” and so on) the useris. For this purpose, the web server 41 holds user information needed todetermine to which of the operators 102 each user corresponds.Alternatively, information representing the operator 102 and the action103 which are shown in FIG. 4 may be transmitted from the web browser 31to the web server 41.

In step S103, the web server 41 retrieves a trigger ID corresponding tothe action in the action message from the action-element DB 44. Forexample, when data as shown in FIG. 18 are stored in the action-elementDB 44, trigger ID “1” is retrieved in response to a request for browsing“http://www.saay.co.jp/.”

In step S104, the web server 41 determines whether or not a trigger IDis retrieved from the action-element DB 44. When it is determined that atrigger ID is not retrieved from the action-element DB 44, the webserver 41 returns the process to step S101. That is, in this case, theweb server 41 cannot execute processing corresponding to the requestfrom the web browser 31 and, thus, does not execute special processing.

When it is determined in step S1104 that a trigger ID is retrieved fromthe action-element DB 44, the web server 41 advances the process to stepS105, in which the web server 41 transmits the retrieved trigger ID andthe received user ID to the trigger manager 64, and then ends theprocessing.

Processing executed by the trigger manager 64 in response to theprocessing in which the web server 41 transmits the user ID and thetrigger ID will now be described with reference to the flow chart shownin FIG. 20.

In step S121, the trigger manager 64 determines whether or not a messageis received from the web server 41. When it is determined that a messagefrom the web server 41 is not received, the trigger manager 64 waitsuntil a message from the web server 41 is received.

In step S121, when it is determined that a message from the web server41 is received, the trigger manager 64 advances the process to stepS122, in which the web server 64 acquires the user ID and the trigger IDwhich are contained in the message received from the web server 41. Instep S123, the trigger manager 64 detects the IP address of a contentreceiver corresponding to the user ID from the user-address DB 63.

The user who uses a service provided by the web server 41 registershis/her identity into the web server 41 in advance. When a request foruser registration is issued from the web browser 31, the web server 41issues a request for the registration to the trigger manager 64. Uponreceiving the registration request, the trigger manager 64 issues a userID for the user and registers the user ID, together with userinformation, into the user-address DB 63. When the content receiver 15is contained in the user information input from the user, the triggermanager 64 assigns an IP address to the content receiver 15 andregisters the IP address into the user-address DB 63.

FIG. 21 shows examples of data stored in the user-address DB 63. Eachpiece of data is constituted by a user ID 241 and a content-receiver IPaddress 242. In the case of the examples shown in FIG. 21, the IPaddress 242 of a content receiver 15 corresponding to a user with a userID 241 of “1” is “43.22.109.22.” Similarly, the IP address 242 of acontent receiver 15 corresponding to a user with a user ID 241 of “2” is“43.22.109.23” and the IP address 242 of a content receiver 15corresponding to a user with a user ID 241 of “3” is “43.22.109.24.”

In step S124, the trigger manager 64 detects a content URI correspondingto the trigger ID acquired in step S122 from the trigger element DB 65(FIG. 16). For example, when the received trigger ID is “1,” the triggermanager 64 detects “http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg” as the content URI, asshown in FIG. 16.

In step S125, the trigger manager 64 transmits the content-receiveraddress detected in step S123 and the content URI detected in step S124to the content sender 82, and ends the processing. For example, whenboth of the received user ID (FIG. 21) and the trigger ID (FIG. 16) are“1,” “43.22.109.22” as the IP address of the content receiver 15 and“http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg” as the content URI are transmitted to thecontent sender 82.

Processing in which the content sender 82 distributes content to thecontent receiver 15 in response to the processing of the trigger manager64 which is shown in the flow chart of FIG. 20 now will be describedwith reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 22.

In step S141, the content sender 82 receives the content-receiveraddress and the content URI which are transmitted by the trigger manager64 in the processing in step S125 of FIG. 20. In step S142, inaccordance with the received content URI, the content sender 82 acquirescontent that is internally stored and distributes the content to thecontent receiver 15 indicated by the received content-receiver address.

For example, when the IP address of the received content receiver 15 is“43.22.109.22” and the content URI is “http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg,”the content of the URI “http://www.saay.co.jp/cm.mpg” is distributed tothe content receiver 15 having an IP address of “43.22.109.22.”

While processes of the individual units are separately described above,the operation of the entire system can be summarized as shown in FIG.23. In step S161, the application server 12 (the web server 41)transmits an action element of an action that can be processed by theapplication server 12 to the action element DB 61 of the service server13 and causes the action element to be registered. This processing isaction-element registration phase processing.

In step S162, the trigger-element registry client 81 issues a requestfor acquiring an action element group to the trigger-element registryserver 62. In step S163, the trigger-element registry server 62 issues arequest for acquiring the action element group to the action element DB61. In step S164, the action element DB 61 transmits the requestedaction element group to the trigger-element registry server 62. In stepS165, the trigger-element registry server 62 transmits the receivedaction element group to the trigger-element registry client 81.

In step S166, the trigger-element registry client 81 selects an actionelement and transmits the selected action element (a trigger element)and a content URI corresponding to the trigger element to thetrigger-element registry server 62. In step S167, the trigger-elementregistry server 62 registers the received content URI into the triggerelement DB 65. In step S168, the trigger element DB 65 determines atrigger ID for the registered content URI and transmits the determinedtrigger ID to the trigger-element registry server 62.

In step S169, the trigger-element registry server 62 transmits thetrigger element and the trigger ID to the application server 12 (the webserver 41) and causes the trigger ID to be registered. The aboveprocessing is a trigger-element registration phase, in which theregistration of the trigger element (the action element) is completedand content can be supplied in this state.

In step S170, when an action is performed, the application client 11(the web browser 31) transmits the ID of a user who performed the actionand an action message corresponding to the action to the applicationserver 12 (the web server 41). In step S171, the application server 12transmits the user ID and a trigger ID corresponding to the action inthe action message to the trigger manager 64. The above processing is aphase for executing processing corresponding to a user action.

In step S172, the trigger manager 64 transmits the received user ID tothe user-address DB 63. In step S173, the user-address DB 63 transmitsthe address of a content receiver corresponding to the received user IDto the trigger manager 64.

In step S174, the trigger manager 64 transmits the received user ID tothe trigger element DB 65. In step S175, the trigger element DB 65transmits a content URI corresponding to the received trigger ID to thetrigger manager 64.

In step S176, the trigger manager 64 transmits the receivedcontent-receiver address and the content URI to the content sender 82.The above is a phase for issuing a content distribution request.

In step S177, in accordance with the received content-receiver addressand the content URI, the content sender 82 distributes content to thecontent receiver 15. The above processing is a distribution phase.

As described, when a user executes an action, such as browsing apredetermined home page, using the web browser 31, and the actioncorresponds to an action element registered in the action-element DB 44,content associated with the action element (the trigger element) isautomatically registered into the content receiver 15 without the user'sinstruction. The user accesses the content receiver 15, as needed, andlistens to and/or views the registered content.

The content is provided based on the user's actual action and thus meetsthe user's preference. As such, the user can readily obtain content thatmeets his/her preference without entering preference information onhis/her own. In addition, even if the preference changes, the user canobtain content that meets the latest own preference without beingrequested to perform a special operation.

The provider of the content can ensure that the user to whom theprovider supplies the content can listen to and/or view the content, andthus can efficiently distribute content. Also, the provider can readilychange content to be supplied.

The administrator of the application server 12 or the service server 13can also charge fees to the administrator (the content provider) of thecontent server 14 to make a profit.

A description now will be given in terms of individual serversconstituting the system. The service server 13 holds a content URI fromthe content server 14 and performs interface processing, such astransmission to the application server 12, between many content servers14 and many application servers 12. Thus, without putting a large loadon each application server 12 or each content server 14, sucharrangement can facilitate and ensure that content corresponding to anactual action of the user of the application server 12 is supplied tothe user of the application server 12.

That is, this arrangement can facilitate and ensure that content whichmeets the user's preference is supplied to the application client 11,without the application server 12 directly contracting with many contentservers 14 or preparing large-scale equipment. Further, conversely, thisarrangement also may facilitate and ensure that content which meets thepreference of each of a large number of users is supplied thereto,without the content server 14 directly contracting with many contentservers 12 or preparing large-scale equipment.

The content server 14 associates a content URI with an actionprocessable by the application server 12, transmits the content URI tothe service server 13, and causes the service server 13 to performregistration. Upon receiving the content URI and the address of a devicewith which the action was performed from the service server 13, contentis transmitted to the address. Thus, a content URI to be associated withan action can be arbitrarily set, content to be supplied and a user towhich the content is supplied can be selected. Content can be easily andreliably supplied to a user to whom the provider wishes to supply thecontent.

The application server 12 holds trigger IDs and actions and retrieves atrigger ID corresponding to an action input from the application client11, transmits the retrieved trigger ID and the address of a device thatperformed the input action to the service server 13, and further causesthe trigger ID and the address to be transferred to the content server14. Thus, without putting a load on the user of the application client11, this arrangement can supply content suitable for the user, inaddition to offering the original action-related service. That is, it ispossible to offer more-value-added services to users.

The content herein includes still images, moving images, sound, text,and other information.

FIG. 24 shows another embodiment of the information distribution systemaccording to the present invention. In this example, the applicationserver 12 holds a content URI corresponding to an action. Thus, there isno need to provide the action elements DBs 44 to 46 and the actionelement DB 61 and the trigger element DB 65 of the web browser 31 shownin FIG. 2.

Thus, when the trigger-element registry client 81 issues a request foracquiring an action element group, the action element group istransmitted from the application server 12 to the trigger-elementregistry client 81 via the trigger-element registry server 62. Thetrigger-element registry client 81 selects an action element, transmitsthe selected action element (a trigger element) and a content URIcorresponding to the trigger element to the application server 12 viathe trigger-element registry server 62 and causes the trigger elementand the content URI to be registered.

Upon receiving an action from a user, the application server 12transmits a user ID and a content URI to the trigger manager 64, and thecontent sender 82 distributes content to the content receiver 15.

FIG. 25 shows still another embodiment of the information distributionsystem according to the present invention. In this example, content issupplied to a terminal provided with the application client 11. Thus,there is no need to provide the user-address DB 63 and the contentreceiver 15.

That is, the application server 12 transmits the address of theterminal, instead of the user ID, to the trigger manager 64 and thecontent server 14 causes content to be supplied to the terminal.

In the processing described above, the web server 41 transmits actionelements registered in the action-element DB 44. In the same manner, theticket server 42 and the position-information server 43 transmit actionelements registered in the respective action element DBs 45 and 46.

Additionally, with regard to the application server 12, the serviceserver 13, and the content server 14, two or more such servers may becontained in one server.

The series of processing described above can be executed by hardware orsoftware. In this case, for example, the content server 14 isimplemented by a computer 401 as shown in FIG. 26.

The computer 401 shown in FIG. 26 includes a CPU (Central ProcessingUnit) 451. The CPU 451 is connected to an input/output interface 455 viaa bus 454. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 452 and a RAM (Random Access Memory)453 are connected to the bus 454.

An operation input section 456 and an output section 457 are connectedto the input/output interface 455. The operation input section 456 isconstituted by input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and amicrophone which are operated by a user. The output section 457 isconstituted by output devices, such as a display, a speaker, a printer,and a plotter. Also connected to the input/output interface 455 are astorage unit 458, which includes a hard disk drive or the like forstoring a program and various types of data, and a communication unit459, which communicates data over the network 10 including the Internet.

Further, a drive 460 is connected to the input/output interface 455, asneeded, to write/read data to/from storage media, such as a magneticdisk 461, an optical disk 462, a magneto-optical disk 463, and asemiconductor memory 464.

An information processing program for causing the computer 401 toexecute operation as a content server according to the present inventionis stored in the magnetic disk 461 (including a floppy disk), theoptical disk 462 (including a CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory) anda DVD (Digital Versatile Disk)), a magneto-optical disk 463 (includingan MD (Mini Disc)), or a semiconductor memory 464, is supplied to thecomputer 401, is read by the drive 460, and is installed onto a harddisk drive built into the storage unit 458. The information processingprogram installed on the storage unit 458 is loaded from the storageunit 458 to the RAM 453 in response to an instruction from the CPU 451which corresponds to a command input by a user at the input section 456.

When the series of processing is executed by software, a program forimplementing the software is installed via a network or a storage mediumon to a computer incorporated in to dedicated hardware or onto, forexample, a general-purpose personal computer that can execute variousfunctions through installation of various programs.

The program storage medium for recording the program may be a packagemedium that is distributed separately from a computer to supply aprogram to users. As shown in FIG. 26, examples of the package mediuminclude the magnetic disk 461, the optical disk 462, the magneto-opticaldisk 463, and the semiconductor memory 464. The program storage mediumalso may be the ROM 452 or the hard disk included in the storage unit458, the ROM 452 or the hard disk being pre-installed in a computer andbeing supplied to users.

Herein, the steps for describing the program recorded in such a storagemedium may or may not be processed in a time series according to thesequence described above. Thus, those steps may be processedconcurrently or individually.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the present invention, content can bedistributed. In particular, without putting a large amount of load on auser, the distribution can be facilitated. Also, the URI of content canbe easily updated. Further, content that meets an action or preferenceof the user can be distributed. Also, content can be efficientlydistributed. Additionally, it is possible to charge fees to a contentprovider to make a profit.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. An information processing system, comprising afirst information processing device for receiving access information foraccessing content, a second information processing device fortransmitting the access information to the first information processingdevice, and a third information processing device for detecting actioninformation, wherein the first information processing device comprises:a first receiver for receiving the access information from the secondinformation processing device; a first holding part for holding theaccess information received by the first receiver; and a firsttransmitter for transmitting the access information corresponding toaction information to the third information processing device; whereinthe second information processing device comprises: a first acquiringpart for acquiring the action information processable by the thirdinformation processing device; a second transmitter for transmitting theaccess information corresponding to the action information to the firstinformation processing device; a second receiver for receiving anaddress of a device with which an action was performed and the accessinformation corresponding to the performed action from the thirdinformation processing device; and a third transmitter for transmittingcontent to the address in accordance with the access informationreceived by the second receiver; and wherein the third informationprocessing device comprises: a third receiver for receiving the accessinformation and the action information corresponding to the accessinformation from the first information processing device; a secondholding part for holding the access information so as to correspond tothe action information received by the third receiver; a secondacquiring part for acquiring the address of the device with which theaction was performed, the action and the action information; aretrieving part for retrieving the access information corresponding tothe action information from the information held by the second holdingpart; and a fourth transmitter for transmitting the address acquired bythe second acquiring part and the access information retrieved by theretrieving part to the second information processing device.
 22. Aninformation processing method for an information processing systemhaving a first information processing device for receiving accessinformation for accessing content, a second information processingdevice for transmitting the access information to the first informationprocessing device, and a third information processing device fordetecting action information, wherein the information processing methodfor the first information processing device comprises: receiving theaccess information from the second information processing device;holding the access information received in the processing of the step ofreceiving the access information received in the processing of the stepof receiving the access information; and transmitting action informationcorresponding to the access information to the third informationprocessing device; wherein the information processing method for thesecond information processing device comprises: acquiring the actioninformation processable by the third information processing device;transmitting the access information corresponding to the actioninformation to the first information processing device; receiving anaddress of a device with which an action was performed and the accessinformation corresponding to the performed action from the thirdinformation processing device; and transmitting content to the addressin accordance with the access information received in the processing ofthe step of receiving an address; and wherein the information processingmethod for the third information processing device comprises: receivingthe access information and the action information corresponding to theaccess information from the first information processing device; holdingthe access information so as to correspond to the action informationreceived in the processing of the step of receiving the accessinformation; acquiring the address of the device with which the actionwas performed, the action and the action information; retrieving theaccess information corresponding to the action information from theinformation held in the processing of the step of holding the accessinformation; and transmitting the address acquired in the processing ofthe step of acquiring the address and the access information retrievedin the processing of the step of receiving the access information to thesecond information processing device.
 23. An information processingdevice, comprising: a first receiver for receiving access informationfor accessing content from a first another information processingdevice; a first holding part for holding the access information receivedby the first receiver; and a first transmitter for transmitting actioninformation corresponding to the access information to a second anotherinformation processing device.
 24. The information processing device asclaimed in claim 23, further comprising a determining part fordetermining an ID corresponding to the access information received bythe first receiver, wherein the first holding part holds the accessinformation and the ID.
 25. The information processing device as claimedin claim 24, further comprising: a second receiver for receiving anaddress of a device with which an action was performed and an IDcorresponding to the action from the second another informationprocessing device; a detector for detecting the access informationcorresponding to the ID from the first holding part; and a secondtransmitter for transmitting the address and the access information tothe first another information processing device.
 26. An informationprocessing device according to claim 25, further comprising a thirdreceiver for receiving an action processable by the second anotherinformation processing device from the second another informationprocessing device; and a second holding part for holding the actionreceived by the third receiver.
 27. An information processing deviceaccording to claim 26, further comprising: a fourth receiver forreceiving a request for acquiring the action from the first anotherinformation processing device; and a third transmitter for transmittingthe action held by the second holding part to the first anotherinformation processing device.
 28. An information processing method foran information processing device that receives access information foraccessing content from a first another information processing device,the method comprising: receiving the access information from the firstanother information processing device; holding the access informationreceived in the processing of the step of receiving; and transmittingaction information corresponding to the access information to a secondanother information processing device.
 29. A program storage medium inwhich a computer-readable program for an information processing devicethat receives access information for accessing content from a firstanother information processing device is stored, the program comprising:a receiving step of receiving the access information from the firstanother information processing device; a hold controlling step ofcontrolling holding of the access information received in the processingof the receiving step; and a transmitting step of transmitting actioninformation corresponding to the access information to a second anotherinformation processing device.
 30. A program for a computer thatcontrols an information processing device for receiving accessinformation for accessing content from a first another informationprocessing device, the program causing the computer to execute: areceiving step of receiving the access information from the firstanother information processing device; a hold controlling step ofcontrolling holding of the access information received in the processingof the receiving step; and a transmitting step of transmitting actioninformation corresponding to the access information to a second anotherinformation processing device.
 31. An information processing device,comprising: an acquiring part for acquiring action informationprocessable by a first another information processing device; a firsttransmitter for transmitting access information corresponding to theaction information to a second another information processing device; areceiver for receiving an address of a device with which an action wasperformed and the access information corresponding to the performedaction from the first another information processing device; and asecond transmitter for transmitting content to the address in accordancewith the access information received by the receiver.
 32. An informationprocessing method for an information processing device that transmitsaccess information for accessing content to a first another informationprocessing device, the method comprising: acquiring action informationprocessable by a second another information processing device;transmitting the access information corresponding to the actioninformation to the first another information processing device;receiving an address of a device with which an action was performed andthe access information corresponding to the performed action from thesecond another information processing device; and transmitting contentto the address in accordance with the access information received in theprocessing of the step of receiving.
 33. A program storage medium inwhich a computer-readable program for an information processing devicethat transmits access information for accessing content to a firstanother information processing device is stored, the program comprising:an acquiring step of acquiring action information processable by asecond another information processing device; a first transmitting stepof transmitting the access information corresponding to the actioninformation to the first another information processing device; areceiving step of receiving an address of a device with which an actionwas performed and the access information corresponding to the performedaction from the second another information processing device; and asecond transmitting step of transmitting content to the address inaccordance with the access information received in the processing of thereceiving step.
 34. A program for a computer that controls aninformation processing device for transmitting access information foraccessing content to a first another information processing device, theprogram causing the computer to execute: an acquiring step of acquiringaction information processable by a second another informationprocessing device; a first transmitting step of transmitting the accessinformation corresponding to the action information to the first anotherinformation processing device; a receiving step of receiving an addressof a device with which an action was performed and the accessinformation corresponding to the performed action from the secondanother information processing device; and a second transmitting step oftransmitting content to the address in accordance with the accessinformation received in the processing of the receiving step.
 35. Aninformation processing device, comprising: a first receiver forreceiving access information and action information corresponding to theaccess information from a first another information processing device; aholding part for holding the access information so as to correspond tothe action information received by the first receiver; an acquiring partfor acquiring the action information and an address of a device withwhich the action is performed; a retriever for retrieving the accessinformation corresponding to the action information from the informationheld by the holding part; and a first transmitter for transmitting theaddress acquired by the acquiring part and the access informationretrieved by the retriever to a second another information processingdevice.
 36. An information processing device according to claim 35,further comprising a second transmitter for transmitting a processableaction to the first another information processing device.
 37. Aninformation processing device according to claim 35, further comprising:a second receiver for receiving the access information and an IDcorresponding to the access information from the first anotherinformation processing device; a second retriever for retrieving thesame access information as the access information received by the secondreceiver, from the holding part; and a storing part for storing the IDso as to correspond to the access information retrieved by the secondretriever.
 38. An information processing method for an informationprocessing device for detecting action information, the methodcomprising: receiving access information and action informationcorresponding to the access information from a first another informationprocessing device; holding the access information so as to correspond tothe action information received in the processing of the step ofreceiving; acquiring an address of a device with which an action wasperformed and the action information; retrieving the access informationcorresponding to the action information from the information held in theprocessing of the step of holding; and transmitting the address acquiredin the processing of the step of acquiring and the access informationretrieved in the processing of the step of retrieving to a secondanother information processing device.
 39. A program storage medium inwhich a computer-readable program for an information processing devicefor detecting action information is stored, the program comprising: areceiving step of receiving access information and action informationcorresponding to the access information from a first another informationprocessing device; a hold controlling step of controlling holding of theaccess information so as to correspond to the action informationreceived in the processing of the receiving step; an acquisitioncontrolling step of controlling acquisition of an address of a devicewith which an action was performed and the action information; aretrieving step of retrieving the access information corresponding tothe action information from the information held in the processing ofthe hold controlling step; and a transmitting step of transmitting theaddress acquired in the processing of the acquisition controlling stepand the access information retrieved in the processing of the retrievingstep to a second another information processing device.
 40. A programfor a computer that controls an information processing device fordetecting action information, the program causing the computer toexecute: a receiving step of receiving access information and actioninformation corresponding to the access information from a first anotherinformation processing device; a hold controlling step of controllingholding of the access information so as to correspond to the actioninformation received in the processing of the first receiving step; anacquisition controlling step of controlling acquisition of an address ofa device with which an action was performed and the action information;a retrieving step of retrieving the access information corresponding tothe action information from the information held in the processing ofthe hold controlling step; and a transmitting step of transmitting theaddress acquired in the processing of the acquisition controlling stepand the access information retrieved in the processing of the retrievingstep to a second another information processing device.